Page 76 of Joy Ride

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A week later

Joy rocked Arden in her arms, still amazed by how much life could change in an instant.Sometimes for the better, despite what she’d believed before.She smiled down at her daughter and held her tighter, closer to her heart.The baby looked up at her and gurgled happily.

“There are my pretty girls,” Walker said as he came up beside them.Then he cleared his throat.“Can I hold her, Joy?”

“Of course.”She handed Arden off to him without hesitation.It still made her insides mushy when she watched his big hands surround the baby with an inherent promise to protect her and love her.As he’d always tried to do for Joy and was succeeding at now.

Their near miss the week before had changed Walker, hopefully forever.

Then again, she had one last thing to settle with him and Dane before they could move forward.

She figured this was as good a time as any.So she went into Arden’s room—since she was now sharing a bed with Walker and Dane permanently, she hoped—and took the crisp white envelope from the top drawer, where she’d hidden it behind Arden’s teeny tiny socks.

It had come in the mail several days ago, but she hadn’t found the nerve to open it.Things were too perfect to risk messing up.Except she knew that if they didn’t address the baby elephant in the room, she might only be allowing herself to fall deeper in love for nothing.

When she returned to the living room, Dane and Walker were huddled together on the couch, with Arden in the middle, shaking her fists up at them and wiggling excitedly like she did every time they played with her.Even her daughter had fallen for the pair.

It would be better to know now if that wasn’t going to last.

Joy approached slowly, still loath to interrupt what had been the best days of her life.

Dane looked up at her and his giant smile shrank.“What do you have there?”

Walker’s head whipped up and he frowned.“Is that what I think it is?”

“Your results.Yep.”She held the envelope out to them, but Dane recoiled as if it was the most poisonous snake in the world.

“I don’t want that.”He turned his head and stared out the window a moment before he returned his focus to Arden, this time with a profound sadness in his gaze instead of the bliss that had been there only moments before.

He might not, but Walker…

He had a right to know if that’s what he needed.

Walker settled Arden in Dane’s arms, then paused before extending his hand.Joy put the envelope in his and held her breath.

Instead of sliding his finger beneath the seal on the back, he put both fists on the top of the legal-sized paper, then ripped the thing in half with ashrrpthat sliced through the room.Even Arden stared as if she knew how momentous the occasion was.

Walker stacked the pieces, then ripped them again and again until the test results were completely shredded.He sprinkled them all over the floor and dusted his hands.“It doesn’t matter, Joy.Arden is ours.All of ours.I’m sorry that I didn’t understand right away how we were meant to be.You guys are my family and I don’t ever plan to let you doubt it again.I’m not going anywhere, and neither are the three of you.”

“You deserve this,” Dane told Walker.“You’re not your father and you have nothing to be ashamed of.You know that, right?”

“I’m working on it.”Walker shrugged.“I’ll keep doing my best.”

“Thank you,” Dane sighed.

“So I expect the same of you,” Walker stared into Dane’s eyes from a few inches away, making Joy shift as she imagined where their connection might lead.They were so intense together, they brought her along too.“We’re as safe as we can be here, while Clive is locked up and Jordan and his team are working to shut down Wildfire.I’m going to give the deposition he asked for.Tell them everything I know.Even then, shit happens.You can’t blame yourself if it does.”

“I know.”Dane winced.“But when I start to get anxious, I’m going to need you two to calm me down.In as many creative ways as possible.”

“Deal.”Walker sealed his promise with a kiss.Then he looked to Joy.“How about you?Are you good now too?”

“Yeah.”She nodded, unable to talk for a few moments.“I have everything I need.I’ll be even better when Auntie Sevan is finished with her mission and comes home to us safe and sound.”

Walker nodded.“Don’t worry.She’s as tough as you are, trained by Wildfire themselves.Besides, Levi and Ransom will help keep her safe.”

“Mmmhmm.”Joy huffed.“Did you see the way Levi looked at her?Something was going on there.I wouldn’t be surprised if they do more damage than Angus.”

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